This easy baked cod recipe comes together in just over 20 minutes, but there is a reason it is a big fan favorite! Tender, perfectly flaky cod, tossed in bold Mediterranean spices and baked with a tasty garlic and lemon sauce.
Fish is one of the staples of the Mediterranean diet, so my family tries to eat fish about twice per week.
Luckily, there are so many ways to prepare a tasty fish dinner. Sometimes, I go for a big baked salmon, a hearty fish soup, or something different like a saucy Moroccan fish.
But one of my favorite go-to dinners is this easy lemon baked cod! And it is the #1 fish recipe on my site, for good reason!
Why This Cod Recipe Works
Cod fillet is a beautiful fish that is quick to cook, tender and mild-tasting so you can easily give it some big flavors!
This baked cod recipe takes on some bold Mediterranean flavors with a tasty garlic and lemon sauce and a few warm spices, including coriander, paprika, and cumin.
Best part? You can make this lemon baked cod in just over 20 minutes from start-to-finish!
Can I Use Frozen Cod Fish in This Recipe?
Fresh vs. frozen? This is one of the questions I get regularly about cooking with fish. More often than not, frozen is the better option for quality wild-caught fish.
Depending on where you live in the States, the “fresh” fish you may find sitting on ice at the fish counter was likely frozen and thawed before it was displayed. Whereas, flash frozen fish is caught and quickly frozen at the peak of its freshness, and it is often more affordable.
If you find quality frozen fish fillet (sometimes labeled cod loin), it will work in this baked cod recipe but be sure to thaw it properly before use.
How to Thaw Frozen Fish?
Frozen fish fillets thaw quickly in about 15 to 20 minutes. Here is how:
- First, be sure to leave the fish in its vacuum-packaging. If it is not in some sort of packaging, place it in a zip-top bag (do not place it water “naked”).
- Arrange the vacuum-sealed fish in a bowl and cover it with cold tap water. Do NOT use warm or hot water; This creates more risk for bacterial growth and will also affect the texture of the fish,
- Check after 15 to 20 minutes to see if the fish feels tender and thawed through. If it is hard in some parts, leave it in for a little big longer.
How to Bake Cod and What Temperature is Best?
First, what temperature should cod be cooked at? For baked cod, I typically set my oven to 400 degrees F. How long? Depending on the thickness of your cod fillet, it could take about 10 to 15 minutes in the oven.
In this cod recipe, I use about 1 1/2 pounds of cod fillet, and it helps to use a large oven-safe baking dish or a cast-iron skillet. Here is how to make it:
- First, start by lightly coating the cod fillets in some well-seasoned flour. To do this, prepare a dredging station.
- In one shallow bowl prepare the lemon sauce by mixing together 5 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, and 2 tbsp melted butter.
- In another shallow bowl, mix together 1/3 cup all-purpose flour with 1 tsp ground coriander, 3/4 tsp sweet Spanish paprika, 3/4 tsp ground cumin, and 3/4 tsp kosher salt.
- Dip the fish in the lemon sauce, then coat it well with the flour mixture. Keep the lemon sauce for later use.
- Sear the fish. To give the cod some good color and texture, sear it in olive oil for about 2 minutes on each side.
- Add the lemon sauce. Now, to the lemon sauce, add 5 minced garlic cloves (so much flavor), then pour it over the cod.
- Bake in 400 degrees F heated oven for about 10 minutes or until the cod is cooked through. The fish is ready when it turns a beautiful white opaque and flakes easily when you take a fork to it.
- Garnish and serve! I love adding some parsley for a pop of green!
What to Serve With This Cod Recipe?
To complete this fish dinner, I always like to add a big salad and a simple side. I have some ideas that will go perfectly with this cod. To add more Greek flavors, try out our Greek salad. Or give this Lebanese fattoush salad a try. If you’re looking for some beans in your salad, try our Mediterranean bean salad or chickpea salad.
For vegetarian sides, you might want to try out these hearty recipes: roasted broccoli, asparagus with salsa, or stuffed zucchini boats.
For starchy sides, give these a try: mustard potato salad, Greek-style oven fries, or lemon rice.
And to keep with a Greek theme, why not add a dip like Miletzanosalata (Greek eggplant dip) or Tzatziki with some pita chips to serve!
Can I Refrigerate or Freeze Leftover Cooked Fish?
When I make this baked cod recipe, I don’t typically have leftovers. And as with all fish recipes, it is best eaten fresh on the day it is cooked, particularly because often times the fish was already frozen before it was cooked.
But, a reader recently asked this relevant question as she cooks for fewer people. Depending on how fresh the fish was to begin with, you can store the leftovers either in the fridge or even in the freezer. First, cool the fish a little, but don’t leave it in room temperature for more than 1 hour before refrigerating or freezing.
Arrange the cod in a shallow glass container with a tight lid and refrigerate for up to 2 days. If you need to warm it up, simply use a medium-heated oven until just warmed through (there is always a chance the fish will be overcooked when you warm it up again).
Generally, cooked fish can be frozen for up to 1 month. My personal preference is not to freeze it, because I feel the texture of the fish changes a little.
Love Cod? Try These Recipes Next!
More Baked Fish Recipes
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Ingredients
- 1.5 lb Cod fillet pieces, 4-6 pieces
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
Lemon Sauce
- 5 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
For Coating
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 3/4 tsp sweet Spanish paprika
- 3/4 tsp ground cumin
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Mix together the lemon juice, olive oil, and melted butter in a shallow bowl (do not add the garlic yet). Set aside.
- In another shallow bowl, mix the all-purpose flour, spices, salt and pepper. Set next to the lemon sauce.
- Pat the fish dry. Dip the fish in the lemon sauce then dip it in the flour mixture. Shake off excess flour. Reserve the lemon sauce for later.
- Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a cast iron skillet (or an oven-safe pan) over medium-high heat (watch the oil to be sure it is shimmering but not smoking). Add the fish and sear on each side to give it some color, but do not fully cook (about 2 minutes on each side). Remove the skillet from heat.
- To the remaining lemon sauce, add the minced garlic and mix. Drizzle all over the fish fillets.
- Bake in the heated oven until the fish flakes easily with a fork (10 minutes should do it, but begin checking earlier). Remove from the heat and sprinkle chopped parsley. Serve immediately.
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Notes
- Serving suggestions: Serve immediately with Lebanese rice and this Mediterranean chickpea salad or traditional Greek salad.
- Cook’s Tip: This recipe has been edited adding step #5 to achieve more color. Be sure to use a fish spatula to carefully turn the fish in the skillet.
- Leftover Storage: If you have any leftovers, let the fish cool a bit, then arrange in a shallow glass container with a tight lid. You can refrigerate for 2 to 3 days, or freeze for up to one month. My personal preference is not to freeze fish as, sometimes, the texture does change.
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Oh my!!! I don’t usually comment on recipes but this was soooo good I had to say thank you!
The fish only needed 6 minutes in the oven but the flavours were amazing, the zing of the lemon with the depth of the garlic and warming spices ….. delicious!
I served with cauliflower rice, spinach and broccoli
Thank you, Kirstie! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
our cod was thin, so cooking time was 5-7 minutes. We thought there was too much salt for sure, and maybe a bit too much spice. next time, we will cook the fish as directed, but saute the garlic/ lemon sauce and pore over when it comes out, as the breading got soggy in the oven. will try again.
This was EXACTLY our experience tonight and how we would do it the next time (too salty, very soggy…).
Easy and very tasty.
Made this as per the recipe and it was really nice. Just wondering can it be cooked in an air fryer instead of an oven? If so what are the times and temperature?
Hi, Grace. We have not tested this recipe in an air fryer, but other readers have with success, so it’s definitely worth a try! One person suggested setting the temp a bit lower (375°) and cooking it a bit longer (about 15 or so minutes). This may depend on your personal air fryer, though, so just keep a close eye on the fish as you cook it.
Absolutely beautiful and so easy to prepare and cook. The spices bring out the best of the fish; couldn’t get enough of it.
Inedible. Spices used are some of my favorite but they’re way too overpowering for such a delicate flavored fish. Unfortunately it got thrown away as all I could taste was the spices and not the fish.
Is there any substitute for corandier?
Hi, Anne. I can’t think of a particular alternative to quality coriander here, but you can use the same method and change up the spices to your liking.
I had high hopes for this recipe as I love cod. My husband isn’t a fish eater (unless it’s fish and chips where the fish is battered and has a lot of malt vinegar as a condiment). I read him the recipe and he agreed to try it. There was no fresh cod at the grocery store so I bought frozen wild caught cod which the author suggested. I’m a pretty good cook (50 years and counting) but I’m sorry to say I was very disapointed with the result. Fish was not tender (no, I didn’t over cook it). I blame that on the fact that it was thawed from frozen. It was suprisingly tasteless even though I used all the spices/herbs, garlic, butter, olive oil and lemon juice in the recipe. Baking the fish at 400 dried out the fish and almost evaporated/burnt most of the lemon sauce. I love the idea of this recipe it just doesn’t work as written. I’ll try it again with fresh cod, more spices and a lower oven temp.
An excellent recipe with the right balance between spices and lemon. I would adjust cooking time depending on the thickness of the cod you cook. I had a thick cut and it took 20 mins. I substituted dill for parsley since that’s what I had on hand. I highly recommend.
This is so good. I just did it on the stove top as I was nervous about over cooking the fish. My husband, who typically doesn’t like cod, said I could make it again That’s how I know it was good 😋
What can I use to substitute the butter? Trying to reduce the fat content. Thank you.
Hi, Nancy. I would simply omit the butter and not increase the amount of olive oil here. I have done this before myself, and it’s turned out fine. Enjoy!
I have made this dish three times now. It is delicious, but I have a problem getting the flour coating to stick after I dip the fish in the oil lemon sauce.
Any suggestions you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Absolutely delicious!! Super tender and juicy.
Will add to my weekly rotation dinners.
Thank you
Donna
Hi, Donna! Good to know you like this recipe to enough to make it on the weekly rotation. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and let us know.
Hi, I was wondering if I can sautee the cod on the stove (Through step 6), then refrigerate the fish and finish it in the oven the next day? (Prep ahead?)
Hello! That’s not something we’d recommend. This one it typically best prepared as instructed. Although, some readers have had success completely cooking/baking it ahead, refrigerating, and then gently reheating just prior to serving. So, that might be worth a try in a pinch.
Everybody loved it. Fish is soft, flaky and well seasoned. Next time I’ll leave the coating out to save time and less mess.
Delicious and perfectly seasoned. Simple, elegant, and highly recommended!
I agree, I would not have thought of using these spices with fish….delicious!